CH935 - Communicating Science to Different Audiences

Module content and teaching

Principal aims

Module Aims: to allow students to develop and demonstrate their capacity to communicate scientific research to a range of specialised and non-specialised audiences; to provide experience in using a range of media to coomunicate science including newspaper, web, radio and TV; to give student experience on both sides of the media 'divide'; to facilitate the development of a range of critical thinking skills, transferable to a range of science; to enable the development of a range of key skills in communicating science, transferable to a range of career options including the academic, industrial, and other sectors.

Principal learning outcomes

"By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of: Subject Knowledge and Understanding: Write a coherent and effective conference proposal; Deliver a presentation on a science topic to a non-specialised audience; Deliver a talk on a science topic to a specialised audience Produce a poster on a science topic. Key Skills: Oral presentation skills; Advanced writing skills to target different audiences; Technical production of various pieces of writing; Ability to express complex practical issues in a coherent manner; Practical aspects of event planning. Cognitive Skills: Ability to engage an audience in a scientific argument; Advanced research and writing skills; Competence in writing for different audiences; Competence in addressing different audiences. Subject Specific / Professional Skills: Experience of planning and organising a conference; Experience of delivering complex scientific concepts to a variety of audiences; Experience of working with computer programmes to create visually interesting scientific documents."